As frequent readers have heard from me ad nauseam, one of the key elements of cataract surgery is implantation of the intraocular lens implant. It not only makes the eye overall more stable, but it is necessary for all who don’t view “coke bottle glasses” as fashionable. Despite our personal preferences as ophthalmologists for our…

As the collective consciousness of the dreamy-eyed wanderers fantasizes about hurtling humans toward the red planet, we may need to think abiout things that are not necessarily addressed in books and films like The Martian. Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS) is an eye problem, or perhaps more correctly a constellation of eye problems, related to long…

If you are going to watch the Super Bowl tonight, you may well spot superstar pass rusher Von Miller. The Los Angeles Rams were already a team with a lot of pass rushing strength, and they brought in Von Miller during the season to bolster what was already an advantage. Miller has been very public…

An ophthalmologist made a keen observation that really resonates with me. He remarked about the recent increase in repurposing of medicines that have been used for a long time for glaucoma. In fact, some of the drops have been “used” for so long that they have been replaced by newer medications and are now rarely…

Most of the population is unfamiliar with the term “amblyopia,” and I can definitely see why; there is no obvious indication from the word to lead us to its definition, at least none that the world would be commonly familiar with. As a technical term, we ophthalmologists use amblyopia to mean a problem with vision…

Though this is not the first time I have had such a realization, learning new information can always be a humbling experience. I recently learned that having shingles on the skin around one’s eye can increase the risk of stroke. What’s even more curious and scary to me is that the average time from the…

Although the topic of vaccines is fraught with many diverse opinions these days, I would be remiss if I didn’t recount the major theme of an article I recently read in an ophthalmology journal. The authors investigate the rate of shingles in the upper face in patients who have had the Shingrix vaccine versus those…

Have you ever seen an infomercial in the wee hours of the morning, with each testimonial professing that the only thing stopping you from perfect vision is a lack of pinhole glasses? Well, to some extent, pinholes are great for vision! The main reason that people need glasses is that light rays coming into the…

In ophthalmology, “UGH” means a whole lot more than just an exasperated doctor. The acronym can be used to stand for Uveitis-Glaucoma-Hyphema. Most of the time, Uveitis-Glaucoma-Hyphema syndrome occurs when there is a lens implant placed in the eye in a not-so-great position. It then acts as a foreign object in the eyeball, rubbing on…

I think that I have mentioned this before, but, given the date on the calendar, I thought I should revisit the topic. There is a special type of cataract that can form in some eyes that is called a christmas tree cataract. It earns that name due to all of the multicolored reflections that one…